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Sometimes it takes more than a village.

Grey Advertising, the giant ad agency which once splintered itself into a collection of small “villages” in an attempt to capture some lightning in a bottle, took top honors as the best all around ad agency of 2012 in a quantitative online survey conducted among agency search consultants, by marketing and search firm Avidan Strategies. It is the first such survey in which the consultants, who have unique firsthand knowledge of agencies, ranked them.

This accolade points to Grey’s transformation with impressive creative credentials which started with the arrival at the shop of Tor Myhren five years ago as its creative director (Myhren since added the title of president as well). Together with Global CEO Jim Heekin, Myhren succeeded in sprucing up the staid 95-year old shop known more for strong account management than award-winning advertising, with famous work such as the E-Trade Baby, and the Charlie Sheen commercial for DirecTV.

The Rest of the Top 10:

2.Wieden+Kennedy: It is quite amazing that, in a cyclical business such as Advertising, W+K has stayed on top consistently for 30 years. Its advertising for Coke, Nike and P&G (Old Spice) is universally admired, as is the agency.

3. Butler, Shine, Stern: This midsize and highly regarded San Francisco-based creative agency is joining the elite group with stellar work for Columbia outwear, Nokia and MINI, which it defended successfully in a controversial competitive review earlier this year.

4. Ogilvy: Under CEO Miles Young, Ogilvy achieved a rare feat this year, becoming the first agency to garner the most awards in the two most important award shows, the Effie’s and Cannes Lions, giving it a nice balance of creative and effective work.

5. BBDO: This 122-year old agency, like Wieden, is another one of those agencies that defines the gold standard for “creativity”, with consistently good work for such blue chip clients as General Electric, AT&T, Mars, and Federal Express. Not a surprise for an agency whose mantra is, “The Work. The Work. The Work.”

6.CP+B: An agency with strong creative legacy, Crispin is now in its post-Alex Bogusky era. While there’s a bit less sizzle than from when it first burst on the scene a decade ago, it continues to deliver strong advertising for Domino’s, Kraft’s Mac & Cheese, and Old Navy from offices in Boulder, LA and Miami.

7.Deutsch: With two strong offices in NY and LA, and a strong global network in parent Lowe, Deutsch consistently delivers strong work for VW, following last year’s Super Bowl’s charming “The Force” ad, with a spot depicting an amusing chorus of barking dogs. Among its other major clients are Sony PlayStation, Unilever, and Microsoft.

8.Martin: This Richmond, Va. agency created one of America’s most loveable critters, the Geico Gecko, and the zany “My Name Is Peggy” for the discover card, while also working with other big ticket clients like Walmart, Kraft Foods and Pizza Hut.

9. Droga5: The agency continues on its measured, but steady, march toward becoming an established force with big clients, and a stellar creative reputation, adding Coke Zero to a roster that also includes Puma, Mondolez, and Unilever, while attracting deep pocketed investors in anticipation of international expansion.

10.Mullen: An early adapter of social media, the agency successfully implemented a bundled integrated model that helped it land such “on-trend” clients as Zappos, JetBlue, and Google in recent years.

Agency search consultants are uniquely positioned to bestow these plaudits because they are constantly in the marketplace and are exposed to the way agencies present themselves in new business reviews. Given the significant role that consultants play in helping companies find agency partners, this list is probably more reflective of the true strengths and weaknesses of agencies.

That said, it should also be noted that the correlation between the consultants’ opinions of agencies and which agencies actually get invited to pitch depends heavily on the clients’ brief, their needs, and what the agency is being asked to do.

All in all, the survey points to a few surprises. First, perhaps, is the prominent position of Butler, Shine, Stern, and the fact that they are now recognized as an elite shop. Just as impressive is that fact that the list overwhelmingly skews toward midsize agencies at the expense of the big agencies, Grey’s selection as top dog notwithstanding. We saw a similar inclination toward smaller agencies among Advertiser’s in a marketers’ survey that we conducted a few months ago, and these findings suggest a strong headwind for the big shops. Even more alarming, many of the big shops that did not make the top-10 list did not receive even a single vote.

And, if you need further proof that New York is no longer the center of the U.S. ad scene, look at the list again – only half of the top agencies call the Big Apple “home.”

Avi Dan is the founder of Avidan Strategies, a marketing consulting firm that specializes in business and marketing advice, agency search, compensation, and advertising strategy. He spent 30 years in senior account management and business development positions with leading global agencies.